Heat-treating furnace



March 6, 1945. R, J GUBA 2,370,954

HEAT-TREATING FURNACE Filed July 28, 1943 f 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNEJ$ hr07 [lbw/J 4 I I n TTTT lvr Ma'r ch e; 1945. .R, J UBA 2,370,954

HEAT-TREATING FURNACE Filed July 28, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q w rlvsa's;WW 1 /f ,mbma J6 T EY Patented Mar. 6, 1945 HEAT-TREATING URNACE IRaymond J Guba, Philadelphimla... assignorto h Audubon-Wire ClothCorporatioma corporation of New Jersey Application July 28, 1943, SerialNo; 496 683 13 Claims. (01; zit-g1) The invention relates to aheat-treating furnace and is directly specifically to an improve-. mentin the structure, of the conveyor employed for transporting articlestherethrough duringth heat-treating operation. I

In the construction of many types of furnaces I as well as resist thabrasive action of the hearth,

it is relatively expensive, thus making the cost of manufacture andmaintenance of the-conveyor ;an important item in the ultimate cost of-the articles which are heat treated.

Inasmuch as the conveyor is .usually arranged so that the loaded runthereof is draggedover the furnace hearth, the wire spirals of which itis constructed are subjected to a great amount of wear by reason ofthehigh abrasiveaction of the castings or the refractory bricks used. inlining the tunnel and thus forming the floor or hearth.

- This is particularly true under the present war program in view of theefforts of the manufacturersof ordnance and other war materials toreduce the time and cost of manufacture of such materials by usingcastings in a rough or unfinv verse contraction of the conveyor itselfwhen a under tension. other objectsand advantages of ishedstate for thefurnac hearth. The extreme wear on the conveyor spirals as they are.dragged over a hearth made of rough or unfinished castings results inexcessive damage to the spirals and premature failure of the conveyor.-

Itis therefore one of the principal objects of the present invention toprovide such a furnace with a spiral wire. conveyor which .is soconstructedthat the spirals are not directly subjected to the abradingaction of the hearth. ,Another objectof the invention is the provision,in ,a

woven wire conveyor, of means for resisting endwise contraction andexpansion of the wire spirals. A further object of the invention is theprovision, in a woven wire conveyor, ofmeans which v not only serves toprevent wear uponone surface thereof,.but also toresist longitudinalcontrac .tion and expansion ofthespirals of which-the conveyor is formedand thereby prevent. transthe improvement will begapparent from thefollowing description, taken with the accompanying conveyors with the,present improvement incorporated therein; and x ,Fig. -6,is an enlarged.detailed view of a portion of, the structure shown in Fig. 1, andillustrating thegmanner in which the improved conveyor cooperateswiththe furnace hearth and with the rollers which support theoperation runof the conveyor. l l I ,-.While the invention may be utilizedwith othertypes ,of heat-treating, furnaces, it is illustrated in Figs, 1 and 6 of.the drawings with a furnace lll in whichvthe articles, II to be. heattreated are transported. through .a, tunnel l2 during .the treating.operation. Such at nnel is usually lined with'separate units I3 whichmay be metal castings or refractorybrick. In any case the articles ll--aregenerally transported through the tunnel I'Zby means 'Of anendless conveyor H which is so arranged thatthe run which transports thearti: cles is dragged over the tunnel floor or hearth l5 1 and issupported at, its oppositeends bysuitable means such as therollers I6. v

In order to eliminate the wear upon the lower surfaceof theconveyor H as.its active run is draggedover the furnacehearth l5, means are ofcontact withthe hearth, this means also serving to prevent longitudinalexpansion and contraction of thespirals and thereby, prevent transversecontraction, of the; conveyor when under tension. Itis importantthatsome means be utilized for preventing endwise, contraction of the coilsin view of the tension applied to the conveyor and the high temperaturesto which itis subjected when the furnace is in use.

The improvement may be utilized with various forms ofconveyor of thewire spiral. type, some such forms'being shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 ofthe drawings. Theconveyor illustrated in Fig. 2 is formed ofwirespiralsof the same twist. interwoven in such a manner that the bights I8 alongone edge of each spiral overlapwithin the bights I9 of theadjacentspiral to receive a con nector rod 20 in a manner wellunderstood in the and having one of its runs dragging over said hearthto transport articles through said furnace,

' and-a wire cross rod extending throughout the length of each of saidcoils on the face adjacent said hearth to protect said coils againstabrasion.

and having its opposite ends secured to the endf turns of said coils toresist endwise contraction of said coils.

3. In a heat-treating furnace having a hearth over which articles aretransported, an endless conveyor having one of its runs dragging oversaid hearth to transport articles through said furnace and comprising aplurality of helical coils of wire successively arranged in interlappingrelation, a connecting rod extending through the overlapping portions ofadjacent coils, and a cross rod extending throughout the lengthof eachof said coils on the face adjacent said hearth to protect said coilsagainst abrasion and having its opposite ends secured to the ends of aconnecting rod and to the end turns of a coil to resist endwisecontraction of said coils.

4. In a heat-treating furnace havin a hearth over which articles aretransported, an endless conveyor having one of its runs dragging oversaid hearth to transport articles through said furnace and comprising aplurality of helical coils of wire successively connected together toform a flexible structure, cross rods arranged at intervals on the faceof said conveyor adjacent said hearth, each of said cross rodsextendingthroughout the length of a coil to protect the coil againstabrasion and having its opposite ends secured to the end turns of thecoil to resist endwise contraction of the coils.

5. In a heat-treating furnace havin a hearth over which articles aretransported, an endless conveyor having one of its runs dragging oversaid hearth to transport articles through said furnace and comprising aplurality of helical coils of wire successively arranged in interlappingrelation, a connecting rod extending through the overlapping portions ofadjacent coils, cross rods arranged at intervals on said conveyor, eachof said cross rods extending throughout the length of one of said coilson the face adjacent said hearth to protect the coil against abrasionand having its opposite ends secured to the ends of a connecting rod andto the end turns of a coil to resist endwise contraction of said coils.

6. A conveyor belt for transporting articles over the hearth of aheat-treating furnace or the like, comprising a plurality of helicalcoils of wire successively connected to form a flexible structure, andcross rods arranged at intervals on the surface of said belt operatingadjacent said hearth to provide wear-resisting elements for maintainingsaid coils out of contact with said hearth, each of said cross rodsextending throughout the length of one of said coils on the outer facethereof and having its opposite ends secured to the end turns of thecoil to resist endwise contraction of the coil.

7. A conveyor belt for transporting articles over the hearth of aheat-treating furnace or the like, comprising a plurality of helicalcoils of wire successively connected to form a flexible structure, and awire cross rod extending throughout the length of each coil on the facethereof operating adjacent said hearth to maintain said coils out ofcontact with said hearth and having the opposite ends thereof secured tothe end turns of the coil to resist endwise contraction of said coils.

8. A conveyor belt for transporting articles the coils together, and awire cross rod extending throughout the length of each coil on the facethereof operating adjacentsaid hearth to maintain said coils out ofcontact with said hearth and having the opposite ends thereof secured tothe end turns of the coil and to the ends of a connector rod to resistendwise contraction of said coils.

9. A conveyor belt for transporting articles over the hearth of aheat-treating furnace or the like, comprising a plurality of helicalcoils of wire having the turnsof each interlapping the turns of adjacentcoils to form a continuous fabric, a connector rod extending througheach coil between the turns thereof'and the interlapping turns of eachadjacent coil, and a wear resisting rod extending from end to end ofeach of said coils on the face thereof operating adjacent said hearth tomaintain said coils out of contact with.

said hearth and having its opposite ends secured to the opposite ends ofan adjacent connector rod and to the end turns of the associated coil.

10. A conveyor belt for transporting articles over the hearth of aheat-treating furnace, said belt being formed from a succession offlexibly connected units each comprising a helical coil of wire, aconnector rod extending through the bights at one edge of the coil andhaving its opposite ends secured to the opposite ends of the coil, and awear-resisting rod on the face of the coil operating adjacent saidhearth for maintaining the coil out of contact with said hearth andhaving its opposite ends secured to the end turns of the coil.

l1. A conveyor belt for transporting articles over the hearth of aheat-treating furnace, said belt being formed from a succession offlexibly connected units each comprising a helical coil of wire, aconnector rod extending-through the bights at one edge thereof andhaving its opposite ends secured to the opposite ends of the coil, and a'wear resisting rod arranged centrally on the face of the coil operatingadjacent said hearth for maintaining the coil out of contact with saidhearth and having its opposite ends secured to the end turns of the coiland to the opposite ends of said connector rod.

12. In a woven wire conveyor for transporting articles over the hearthof a heat-treating furarticles over the hearth of a heat-treatingfurnace, a belt element comprising a flattened helical coilof wire, aconnector rod extending through the bights of the turns along one edgeof said coil, and a cross rod arranged lengthwise on one of the outerfaces of said coil to maintain the coil out of contact with said hearthand protect said coil from wear and havingits opposite ends secured tothe opposite ends of said coil and to the opposite ends of saidconnector rod to resist endwise contraction of said coil.

RAYMOND J. GUBA.

